An Atlanta based, opinionated commentary on jazz. ("If It doesn't swing, it's not jazz", trumpeter Woody Shaw). I have a news Blog @
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. I have a Culture, Politics and Religion Blog @ Opinion
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Thursday, May 11, 2006

the V.V. tonight, Ethan heard an excellent set of Fly (Mark Turner, Larry Grenadier, and Jeff Ballard). His companion at the bar was Stanley Crouch, who informed Iverson that John Hicks had passed away.

We salute a modern jazz piano master. The last time Iverson saw Hicks it was with the Charles Tolliver big band, about three or four months ago at the Jazz Standard. Hicks was the star of the show.

We have always been a little disappointed in John Hicks on record.

Crouch said tonight: I heard him live with both Arthur Blythe and Pharoh Sanders when he played---amazing, He knew everything--the whole history of jazz piano. A trio record? Try the one with Elvin Jones and Cecil Mcbee--I think you'll like that one.

Mickey, the elder bartender at the Vanguard, chimed in with: John Hicks was the favorite piano player of both Bradley [the owner of the famous defunct piano bar] and Max Gordon [the first owner of the Vanguard]. He also knew every tune.

Crouch: Yeah, you could ask him for any standard, or even any jazz tune, and he wouid know it.

EI: I just checked out an album of his where he plays Sonny Clark music--not that common a repertoire!

About Me

"The philosophers have only interpreted the world in various ways—the point however is to change it,"-Karl Marx - "If you are neutral in situations of injustice you have chosen the side of the oppressor" -Desmond Tutu - "If you save one life you save all the world" -The Talmud - "Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge.'" — Isaac Asimov - Practice is the preparation for transcendence. - Cecil Taylor " - Just by virtue of their ideological stance, liberals can tolerate difference, they can tolerate not knowing, wondering ‘it could be this, it could be that.’ They can tolerate someone saying, ‘you’ve got it wrong.’ Liberals are just more open to all of that. It’s less of a problem, it’s less of a concern. They’re much more open to compromise, more open to experience—what would otherwise be threatening to people would not be as threatening because of their ideological disposition." - Scott Eidelman,